A corruption case filed by the CBI against the Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB) chief’s reader and alleged middlemen is threatening to ruin the VB chief Sharad Satya Chauhan (IPS:1992:PB)’s chances to become the chief of the state police force. Chauhan is currently the senior-most contender for the DGP post.
It all started after the CBI lodged an FIR against OP Rana, reader to the DGP (Vigilance), along with private individuals Raghav Goyal and Vikas Goyal over alleged bribery linked to the disposal of a vigilance complaint.
Interestingly, the FIR does not name IPS officer Sharad Satya Chauhan as an accused, but the CBI’s verification report and the FIR mention his name in connection with the allegations.
As per CBI sources, the accused allegedly demanded Rs 13 lakh from complainant Amit Kumar, a State Tax Officer from Abohar, purportedly on behalf of public servants, including OP Rana and the DGP (Vigilance), for closing a pending complaint.
The FIR further alleged that the two private contractors acted as intermediaries for Sharad Satya Chauhan and his reader while seeking illegal gratification in exchange for favourable action in the case.
The development has gained widespread attension because Chauhan is the senior-most officer in contention for the DGP post. Plus, his name is also included in a panel of 14 IPS officers sent to the UPSC by the state govt recently. The UPSC is expected to shortlist three names out of which one will be named as the regular DGP.
The latest CBI action is likely to raise questions over how the UPSC assesses Chauhan’s candidature, especially after his reader was booked in the graft case.
Chauhan, however, denied any involvement in wrongdoing and distanced himself from the alleged actions of his reader.
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